With Polish-Russian relations currently severely strained over the Ukrainian crisis, Prime Minister Donald Tusk has repeatedly stressed the necessity for Poland to free itself from what he calls "gas blackmail," namely dependence on Russian natural gas.

Poland is currently enagaged in a far-reaching bid to broaden its energy portfolio. Besides shale and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) programmes, the government also wants the first part of a nuclear power station to be up and running within a decade.